1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a golf putting practice device and more particularly to such a practice device that fits into the floor duct of a forced air circulation system of a building.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of golf putting practice devices are known in the prior art. Many such devices are designed to sit on the surface of a floor for putting practice. However, such practice devices include a ramped sidewall that leads up to a putting cup and, therefore, are not truly representative of putting on a golf green.
To overcome the deficiency of ramped golf practice devices, there have been developed in the prior art practice devices that are adapted to fit into the floor duct of a forced air circulation system of a building such as those disclosed in U.S. Patents to Birchler, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,063; Ridge, U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,405 and Frotten, U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,375. Although the golf practice devices disclosed in these patents substantially eliminate the need for a ramped sidewall, they all are formed from flat support plates that surround a ball receiving portion of the device, which flat plates provide an obstruction to such portion.
To lessen this problem, the Frotten patent discloses a golf practice device fabricated of a resilient material so that the device can be installed in a floor duct by bending the support plate for insertion underneath the carpet surrounding the duct. Although such configuration is an improvement in reducing obstruction to the ball receiving portion, the Frotten practice device cannot readily be moved from one vent to another and depending on the thickness of the carpet under which it is installed, the path to the cup is not completely level.
The present invention is designed to provide a golf putting practice device that overcomes the deficiencies of the foregoing prior art.